B2C global e-commerce sales to increase by 20.1 per cent this year

Posted on March 3, 2014.

New figures show that global B2C e-commerce sales are set to be up by a fifth this year, according to dazeinfo.com.

According to eMarketer, the worldwide sales in the sector will reach a total of $1.5 trillion in 2014 (£0.9 trillion) rising to $2.34 trillion (£1.4 trillion) by 2017. Experts claim that the large increase in sales will be fuelled by increased use of mobile phones and the internet in emerging markets.

It is predicted that there will be 3.5 billion internet users globally this year, as well as 1.2 billion using smartphones. Four out of five internet users will also use the mobile web this year, according to the data.

One region in particular which is set to see its e-commerce market thrive over the next few years is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to gulfnews.com. Visionary innovation group Frost & Sullivan has predicted that e-commerce is to become a “mega-trend” in the region, claiming the sector will be worth $10 billion (£5.98 billion) by 2018.

Sarwant Singh, senior partner of Frost & Sullivan, said that an expansion in the sector is likely to create many new job opportunities and businesses within the region.

He said: “It (e-commerce) is the fastest growing business in the UAE. This transformation will affect the market by creating new business models like break and click, click and collect, click and deliver, click and fit.”

Signh added: “All these are serious and profitable business models which can change the lives of people.”